From sparring to superstar

Chapter 66 64. Dare to vote! (Thanks to the lord who leans on the building and drizzles to listen to the wind, there will be 9 more chapters to add)
At 9 o'clock in the morning, Li Ao came to the San Jose Arena with the team again for training.

At noon, the pac10 league announced something that made the Trojans players very happy and excited.

According to the usual practice, the pac10 alliance headquarters university announces the candidates for each award in the competition area on the last competition day of the competition area stage.

The headquarters university is held in turn by the four founding schools of the Pac10 Alliance, namely the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Washington, the University of Oregon, and Oregon State University. This year, the University of Berkeley is the headquarters university.

The announced list of nominees for individual awards, the Trojans have many people selected!
The most valuable player is the MVP candidate. White Mamba and Granville were selected. Granville was also selected as the most improved player candidate list. Both of them also became the best team candidates.

But Li Ao is the one with the most candidates!

His name is included in the four candidates lists of Best Rookie, Best Sixth Man, Best Defensive Player, and Best Defensive Team.

Shelby Jordan is also on the list of candidates for the best defensive player.

Brusenthal also entered the list of candidates for the best sixth man.

Henry Bibby has become the number one favorite for the best coach.

In this regard, Li Ao gave an evaluation-the winner takes all.

Everyone in the Trojans team is very excited. As a team playing team, the outside world says they are a model and dark horse of team basketball. They feel that the team's victory and honor belong to everyone.

It is an honor for teammates to win awards!
The last time someone from the Trojans won the best rookie in the division was in 1965. Former Lakers player Bill Hewitt won the pac64 league best rookie award in the 65-10 season.

The MVP dates back to the end of the 40s. Celtics star Bill Sharman won the Pac49 league MVP for two consecutive years in 50 and 10.

Although the shortlist is only announced now, everyone feels that they can get at least three or five trophies.

Compared with the NBA, college basketball pays more attention to performance. Generally speaking, the top team in the division will always win a lot of awards.

Li Ao reckons that his first three are probably useless, but he can still look forward to the best defensive team.

And unlike the NBA, the NCAA can be written on the resume even if it is only a 'finalist'.

After lunch, Li Ao went back to the hotel for a lunch break, checked the Internet on the laptop Liam brought, and was quite satisfied.

With this wave of award shortlists, his personal reputation has improved a lot.

Thanks to the cheerleader of the Huskies, the hot-bodied cheerleader said she and her team played multiplayer sports with Li Ao in order to avoid the courtship of the Huskies star Dion Luton, which made people look at him. The first impression is that of a playboy.

In addition, I often send small cards to Liam...

The Trojans are on fire, this team is on fire.

At this time, many people discovered that this guy seems to be really good at playing basketball!
Li Ao was shortlisted for the four awards, which made many people break their defenses.

One of Li Ao's favorite posts - why does he take all the good things?
...

In the afternoon, the area around the San Jose Arena was already buzzing.

Numerous Trojans supporters and Cardinals supporters gathered in the small plaza in front of the San Jose Arena.

The Cardinals, who sit at home, suffered a loss in this matter.

Although there are many fans of the Cardinals in San Jose, after all, it is in the next-door city, and the range of fans is not so wide.

Countless fanatical Trojans fans rushed over from Los Angeles. It was an away game, and there were more Trojans fans outside the stadium than the Cardinals!
Those who didn't know thought it was the Memorial Stadium.

At 6:[-] in the evening, after the pre-match preparations were over, Li Ao and his teammates entered the stadium together.

There's a reason Stanford chose it as the venue for two popular sports, basketball and ice hockey.

With more than 8000 seats and an NBA-level stadium size, choosing this place is obviously more profitable than choosing those small venues in Palo Alto. San Jose is always ranked in the top [-] or even top [-] metropolises in the United States, not to mention Seats, ticket prices for teams in both cities are different.

After entering the stadium, Li Ao understood why Crazy Three's income was higher than that of the NBA playoffs and even the NFL playoffs.

In an away game, he actually saw a crowd of fans wearing their Trojans jerseys or T-shirts!

The spending power of college fans is really strong!
He heard that the price of tickets for this game had skyrocketed, and if their fans of the Trojans came to make a fuss, the ticket price would definitely be raised even higher.

No wonder the NCAA officials are hyping up this game, and the green ones are all beautiful.

When they entered the stadium, the cheers from the away fans were no lower than the boos of the home team fans, who were more than twice as many as them!

Withdrawing his attention, Li Ao looked at the opponent's player evaluation report.

7个场均得分超过7分的球员，有5人场均助攻超过两个，有7人场均助攻超过1个，但场均助攻超过3次的只有两人。

The current record of the Cardinals is 13 wins and 4 losses. Although they have lost to the Wildcats, Sun Devils, and Bruins, they have also won these 3 teams once and tied.

Stable and powerful!
Li Ao took a deep breath, another tough battle!
Fortunately, he has these teammates...

Looking at his teammates who were so excited because of the thousands of fans at the scene, he also felt full of confidence and stepped onto the court to shoot hot shots.

At 7 o'clock in the evening, the Trojans' away game against the Cardinals started!

The starting lineup of the Trojans is still the same, and the starting lineup of the Cardinals is still stable, David Morris, Jacobson, Mendes, Mark Madsen, Jalen Collins.

After the start of the game, the Cardinals, as always, launched a wave of iron-blooded defense, trying to kill the Trojans from the very beginning.

Remember the lesson when you get beaten, the Cardinals are mainly targeting the White Mamba tonight.

Montgomery is not a headache doctor, but he made such a decision based on his team's strong comprehensive team defense ability, that is, he has confidence in his team.

Their style of play is doomed that the individual performance of their players will not be too good, and there are few players with outstanding personal abilities. At this time, the confidence in their team's style of play from top to bottom is extremely important to them.

The Cardinals mainly defend the White Mamba and adjust the defense to a 3-2 zone defense, which can also be said to be a 1-2-2 zone defense, with one player at the top arc, one player on each side of the free throw line, and two players in the low post area to defend against two wing cuts, Make up the bottom corner.

Relying on the 3-2 zone defense, the Cardinals did a very good job of defending the White Mamba in the opening stage.

But the Trojans are not a single-core team, they are also a team offensive team.

Granville seized the opportunity and used the White Mamba's off-ball cover to attract the defense on the side of the free throw line, and made a frenzied assault from the middle.

Both are strong defensive teams, but the Cardinals are completely different from the Dukes. The Dukes have mostly small players who are good at defending mid-range shots, while the Cardinals starting lineup even has point guards who are 193 centimeters tall, 3-2 zone defense It is equivalent to giving the middle lane to Granville.

Granville scored 6 points and 2 assists at the start, and the Trojans beat the Cardinals 10-5!

Granville's two assists were given to Trepagnier, one was Trepagnier's follow-up catch and throw in the middle, and the other was a mid-range shot he made at the free throw line.

However, with such a disadvantageous start, the Cardinals did not mess up, showing the strong psychological quality of a top team play team.

They insisted on blocking the outside line, replacing Jalen Collins with Jason Collins, guarding the basket, and not leaving the three-second zone.

Relying on Mark Madsen's excellent mobility, let Mark Madsen alone undertake the work of defending and assisting the off-line on both sides.

Although the performance of supplementary defense and assistance defense on the flanks is affected by this, the protection of the center has been greatly improved.

There are gains and losses in this choice, but the gains outweigh the losses. After the Cardinals adjusted the lineup, they formed a wonderful balance on the defensive end. While continuing to maintain the defense of the white mamba strangulation, they also gave the Trojans a two-shot restriction in the backcourt. .

Although it also gave Shelby Jordan and Charles a chance to cut in from the flank, it successfully limited the Trojans' offensive efficiency overall.

The defensive efficiency has improved, and another effect of the 3-2 zone defense has begun to appear-the increase in defensive counterattacks!
3-2 zone defense, the three outside lines are all standing outside, which is extremely beneficial for counterattacks!

Montgomery's excellent on-the-spot command, the Cardinals bit the situation.

If you continue to play like this, the Cardinals will surely succeed in making the White Mamba feel cold, and then you can gradually adjust the 3-2 zone defense to a 2-3 zone defense to protect the basket.

Seeing that the situation is not good, Henry Bibby replaced Li Ao and Brusenthal in advance, plus Granville, Trepagnier, and White Mamba, the strongest offensive lineup was presented!
He wants to use Li Ao's mid-range shot and Brusenthal's inside offense to liberate the White Mamba.

However, there is always a gap between ideals and reality. After Li Ao came on the field, he tried to use the "perfect warm-up" first pitcher to open up the situation. As a result, he made a mid-range shot against Mark Madsen's bottom line, followed by another long two. Points, a hook on the left side of the three-second zone turned around and turned his back to the rebound.

The Cardinals seized the opportunity to play a wave of 4-0, overtaking the Trojans 19-18!
Fortunately, the Trojans are not vegetarian. The Cardinals have absolute confidence in their strength. The Trojans have won so many games in a row. The players also have strong confidence in themselves and their teammates. .

It was time for the Trojans to attack again, and the Cardinals began to release Li Ao, who hit three irons in a row, to encircle the double guns of Granville and Trepagnier.

Li Ao's 4th consecutive catch-and-shoot... still didn't make it, his strength was a bit off, and the shot from the left side of the free throw line hit the basket on the right side of the basket's neck.

but!

Brusenthal made a tip-up!
20 to 19, the Trojans immediately overtook the score!

The Cardinals attacked and fell into a positional battle. The White Mamba, who had never had a chance to perform on the offensive end, made a contribution this time. Mendes' cut-in throw was slapped down by the White Mamba.

David Mosley, Jacobson, and Mark Madsen quickly retreated three ways. Granville did not rush to counterattack after receiving the ball.

Falling into positional warfare again, the opportunity still lies with Li Ao.

The Trojans focused on trust, and Tre Pagnell, who was trapped in the zone defense, passed the ball to Li Ao without hesitation.

Li Ao shot for the fifth time in a row...

This time, enter!
The angle he shot last time was already very accurate, but the strength was a little stronger.

22 to 19, the Trojans lead by 3 points!
The Cardinals played really resolutely. When they were preparing for the game, they determined that Li Ao's point was what they wanted to focus on.

Granville has strong breakthroughs and points, Trey Pagnier has comprehensive offensive skills and plays horizontally, and the White Mamba's shooting ability is second only to Eddie House in the Pac10 league. Brusenthal's inside attack ability this season Already famous.

Only Li Ao is the weakest.

They must insist on this kind of defense. If Li Ao is really allowed to play a supporting offense, the white mamba will shoot away, and they will have nothing to fight.

The previous losses to the Trojans, Bruins, Sun Devils, and Wildcats were all due to the top pitchers of the opposing team. Kapono let them eat their first loss, followed by White Mamba, Eddie Howe Adams, Arenas and Gardner.

The opponent insisted on such a defense, and the teammates also chose to continue to believe in their handsome genius.

In the rest of the first half, Li Ao scored 5 goals in 3 shots!
中投4中2，反击上篮1中1，加上红衣主教队犯规满7次后他抢进攻篮板球时被对方顶了一下果断选择扑街博到1+1，两罚全中，在接下来这8分钟时间拿到8分！
Persistence is also limited. Li Ao scored consecutive goals in the open. The Cardinals originally planned to sink the defense down the line, but were forced to return to the high position. In the last few minutes of the first half, Sam Clancy replaced Trepag After Neal came on the field, he continued to cut into the inside and attack.

Facing the rushing Sam Clancy, Jason Collins was also difficult. At the end of the first half, Montgomery chose to replace Jalen Collins to strengthen the offense. .

While shooting wide on the offensive end, Li Ao also did a good job defensively.

He did a good job of defending Jacobson after he came on the court. In the wave of being overtaken by the score, the main reason was that the opponent played a good counterattack. Li Ao's defense was always on the line in the positional battle. The wing contraction and defense are also done very well. After many games, he has grown from a functional defensive player who defends alone and marks to a wing defender trusted by his teammates.

When the defense is unfavorable, the Cardinals can only start from the offensive end. If Jacobson has a bad chance, they can only let Mendes and Jalen Collins go to the basket and bite the situation.

With the Trojans leading 11-42 by 38 points with 4 seconds left in the first half, the Cardinals attacked and tried to close the gap to 2 or even 1 so they wouldn't have too much trouble starting the second half. Obvious disadvantages, no matter from the score or the psychological level, can be reinvigorated and start again.

At this time, Sam Clancy made a contribution!

(End of this chapter)